good morning to our viewers in the west. it is tuesday, september 25th, 2012. welcome to "cbs this morning." as president obama speaks to the u.n., mitt romney wants to know why the president is not talking to other world leaders. >> speaking of world leaders, we talk with the rulers of egypt and iran and also with president bill clinton. >> and the controversial last-second call has nfl fans and players outraged. so did last night's game seal the fate of those replacement r refs. >> but we begin with today's eye opener, your world in 90 seconds. >> more than 120 world leaders are in town, but the president is not scheduled to meet with any of them. >> president obama to address the united nations amid growing

controversy. >> he hasn't set a meeting with benjamin netanyahu of israel. >> he did tape an appearance on "the view." >> he's expected to dissuade iran from pursuing its nuclear weapons program. >> do you think this election has the possibility of producing a change that will overcome gridlock? >> i think it almost certainly will. let me explain why. i think the president's going to win. >> the call on the field stands. touchdown. >> seahawks win in the most bizarre finish you'll ever see. >> pass interference. i thought jennings had the interception. this is comical to me. >> is this the impetus to change the lockout situation? >> it's unbelievable. i can't believe what i just saw. >> the fast-moving wildfire in southern california. the fire has charred thousands of acres. >> it will be harder to bring home the bacon. a shortage of all pork products

is coming. feed prices have gotten too high. >> oh, that? there's a liner. center field. oh, did he catch it? oh, he did! >> dancing is really great. i like to use my body. >> i know. i've heard. >> it's a hipster party. you didn't rsvp. i'm not hip? look at this tie. >> you said israel has no historical roots in the middle east. would you like to apologize? >> that beady eyed little weasel just dropped by the u.n. for another hate-filled rant then went back in line for the new iphone. [ laughter ] ♪ welcome to "cbs this morning." in just a few minutes, president obama will speak to the united nations general assembly. this morning his critics say he's not giving the u.n. enough attention this year because he

wants to be re-elected. >> bill plante is at the u.n. where he's getting an early look at the president's speech. what can we expect to hear? >> reporter: good morning. the president, with when he speaks in just a few minutes, is going to say that the violence in the middle east over the last cup of weeks was an assault on the ideas on which the u.n. was founded. in the name of chris stevens, the u.s. ambassador who was killed in libya. he'll say the future has to be determined by people like chris stevens and not people like his killers. the video which prompted those attacks in the middle east, the video about muhammad, he'll say that nothing justifies those kinds of attacks. and on iran, he's going say that a nuclear-armed iran is a challenge that cannot be contained. charlie, norah. >> bill, why no one on one

bilateral meetings between the president and world leaders? >> reporter: well, simply put, charlie, the president is playing it safe in an election year. he's letting secretary of state hillary clinton do all of those bilats. last year he did 13 of them. this year, none. but it's really about politics. he did find time in his schedule when he was here yesterday to meet with the women of the television program "the view." but of course he needs votes from women, and they have a lot of women viewers. so, you know, this may not be a political speech, but it will be his version of the world as opposed to mitt romney's. >> and bill, speaking of needing voters, the president's not even spending that much time here in new york. where's he off to next? >> reporter: well, that's right. he's here actually less than 24 hours. just a shade less. he takes off from here this afternoon and then tomorrow he goes on another campaign trip to ohio. >> all right. bill plante there.

thank you so much. iran's president is making headlines at the u.n. as he usually does. at a meeting monday, mahmoud ahmadinejad accused the united states of backing what he called a fake regime in israel. that led to a walkout by israel's u.n. ambassador. >> also monday, a wide ranging interview with us, we ask him about the threat of an attack on iran's nuclear facilities and how his country would respond. >> would you retaliate against the united states if there's an attack by israel on iran? >> translator: well, by the principle of it, i don't take the zionist threats serious. >> they're bluffing? >> translator: we don't even take them into account. i would like to ask you, who's subservient to whom? the united states government to the zionists? which one is which? >> for a country ru you saw you don't take into account, you spend a lot of time talking about them, including here today

in new york. you said israel has no historical roots in the middle east and the white house has called that statement by you disgusting, offensive, and outrageous. would you like to apologize? >> translator: do they have roots? if they have roots, then just say they have roots. we don't have to fight over it. what should i apologize for? this is a technical and scientific fact, statement. i'd like to ask you this question. what is a relationship between the united states government and the zionist regime? can you please explain that to me? is it a relationship between two autonomous countries? what is it really? we're a country in the middle east. we have at least a 7,000-year history. the zionists threaten us. the united states government, instead of condemning them,

condemn us. >> well, we're going to have more of the rest of our interview with iran's president tomorrow on "cbs this morning." charlie, it was an -- >> an interesting experience to sit there. you have the president of a country everyone has concerns about. at the same time, there's this going back and forth. sometimes you feel like you're talking past each other. >> exactly. more of that tomorrow. as leaders from around the world come to new york, president obama's foreign policy is getting intense scrutiny, especially the united states' relationship with e gyp. "the new york times" reports that hosni mubarak told mr. obama he simply didn't understand the middle east. this follows criticism saying egypt was not a ally of the united states. we asked egypt's new president mohamed morsi about the relationship. >> it is said there was a heated, heated phone conversation between the president of egypt and the president of the united states.

was there? >> translator: it was warm. it was not hot. [ laughter ] >> what's the difference in warm and hot? >> translator: it's the same difference between a friendship and being an enemy. >> so the united states' government and the egyptian government are friends, not e y enmym enmymenm enemes. >> translator: we are not enemies. we are friends. >> allies? >> translator: the u.s. president said otherwise. >> i know he did. he did. but do you -- i'm asking the egyptian president. do you consider the united states an ally? >> translator: this is dependent on the definition of an ally. the understanding of an ally as a part of a military alliance, this is not existent right now.

if you mean by ally, partnership, and special diplomatic relationship and cooperation, we are that ally. >> very interesting interview, charlie. we should also note this morning, governor mitt romney is attacking president obama's foreign policy record at a campaign rally in colorado. romney said america needs a president who will shape events and not be at their mercy. jan crawford is in denver. jan, what happened to the reset that the romney campaign said they were going to do talking about economy and jobs? instead it seems like they're talking about foreign policy. >> reporter: right. it was foreign policy yesterday. although, romney has said he's going to be drawing a sharper contrast with the president. we sure saw that here in denver. he hit the president hard for saying recent events in the middle east were bumps in the road. he also criticized the administration's response to those attacks in libya. >> the world looks at the events going on. they don't see these events as bumps in the road. these are lives. this is humanity. this is freedom.

>> reporter: campaigning in colorado, romney was referring to comments the president made to "60 minutes," when he said recent events in the middle east were bumps in the road. the white house said the president was talking broadly about events in the region. >> what's happening in the middle east is hardly characterized, in many y view, bump in the road. not with egypt electing a muslim brotherhood president. not with libya seeing the assassination of an american ambassador. not with pakistan in timult. >> reporter: romney also joined a course of criticism over the administration's initial response to the attack in libya. it suggested the violence was triggered by spontaneous protests over an anti-muslim movie and does not seem preplanned. that's what the administration,

who's at odds with the libyan administration. >> it's pretty clear that the white house jumped the gun. the administration immediately dismissed any prospect of this being a coordinated or preplanned effort. i think it's very likely that it was preplanned and it was an assassination and it was a terrorist event. >> reporter: now, even though the white house press secretary said it was self-evident this was a terrorist attack, the president isn't going that far. he deflected a question yesterday on the view, although he did say this wasn't just some mob action. >> jan, thank you. on monday, secretary of state clinton met with libya's new president for the first time since the deadly attack on the u.s. koconsulate in benghazi. where are we with respect to what the secretary of state is saying to the libyans and what they're saying having to do with that awful and tragic death of the american ambassador? >> they're certainly not

changing their message to the press, which is don't ask us to answer your questions. what's happening behind closed doors is that with messaging the hunt for chemical weapons and the hunt for some of those loose weapons, particularly those so-called man pads, the shoulder-mounted missiles that can take down airplanes. the u.s. has continued some of the security training, which is interesting, even though there are no americans in benghazi and they pulled back the staffing at the u.s. embassy in tripoli. they have continued some of their training in other locations outside of the country to help them secure weapons. >> the president's not meeting with any world leaders, although he met with 13. hillary clinton is doing all the work here this week. >> she is. he was taping "the view" while secretary clinton was across town meeting with the leaders. >> charlie and i talked to bill clinton yesterday, who said he'd like to work for hillary clinton later. we're going to show part of that interview later on.

i want to ask you about something hillary did say at clinton global initiative, which is her husband's organization, about elites. listen. >> one of the issues that i have been preaching about around the world is collecting taxes in an equitable manner, especially from the elite in every country. you know, i'm out of american politics, but it is a fact that around the world the elite of every country are making money. there are rich people everywhere. yet, they do not contribute to the growth of their own country. >> we have to ask you about this. here's the secretary of state, who said she's not going to get involved in politics. at clinton global initiative, she says she's been talking about collecting taxes in an equitable manner, in the midst

of a presidential campaign and higher taxes and the tax code. >> i've travelled to a lot of countries with the secretary in the past few months. she's talked a lot about economic diplomacy, trade. i have not heard her talk about tax collection. it is a politically charged issue. it's interesting for someone who says, i'm about foreign policy. she got a standing ovation there. >> she met with with the president of pakistan. that's a troubled relationship. what came out of it? >> that was acknowledged at the onset of the meeting saying this has been a difficult time for both of us. of course, the secretary also met with the foreign minister of pakistan on friday. they had some conversations about the violence, anti-american violence happening in pakistan over the last few weeks. a lot of what happens behind closed doors in pakistan is about how they can help the u.s. presence in afghanistan. so those conversations about reconciliation, including the taliban, are ongoing. that was part of the conversation. >> margaret, thank you.

good to see you. one person has been found dead in a wind-driven wildfire in southern california. the fire east of san diego near the the mexican border is threatening dozens of individuals this morning. the man who died was an elderly man who refused to evacuate. the fire has burned nearly 2500 acres thus far. this morning, another apparent mistake by nfl replacement officials has set off a new fire storm of criticism after last night's green bay/seattle game. everyone was confused, and the losing team was furious. here's the story. jeff, good morning. >> good morning. it was a hail mary at end of the game. it turns an almost certain victory for the green bay packers into a stunning win for the seattle seahawks.

>> jennings has it! who did they give it to? touchdown! >> the reaction was immediate. >> how does m.d. jennings not get credit for the interception in i have no idea. >> and intense. >> it was awful. that's all i'm going to say. >> don't ask me a question about the officials. >> the referees did debate it. >> one guy goes up touchdown. the other said no. >> in the end -- >> the seahawks have won! >> it was the jump ball that determined a game and will very likely determine where the referee dispute goes next. >> the call on the field stands. touchdown. >> seahawks win. >> in seattle, the play that will define the replacement referees and will cause this season to have an asterisk next to it. >> this one play not only capped off a highly criticized game -- >> a penalty on every play. it is making it hard to watch. >> but a weekend that saw a player tripped, an official

tricked, and bill belichick grabbing a referee following the game on sunday night. >> oh, boy. that's a few bucks. >> shortly after the ball was spiked monday, twitter saw a spike in users mentioning refs. over 300,000 tweets in a matter of minutes. many of them coming shortly after the game from packers' players. when the victory was handed to seattle on the last play, it was the first touchdown to end a game with no time on the clock in 664-game history of monday night football. guys. >> so what's going to happen now? >> well, listen, this is still a very bitter dispute. it's gone on a lot longer than most people think. the nfl did issue a statement yesterday which seemed to leave potentially some wiggle room. they also said the two sides are still very far apart. the nfl is not only thinking it's bullied. even after what happened here, and even if you think the refs have more leverage this morning, which they clearly do, it may

not happen right away. >> owners are getting furious about this too. >> they're surprised. >> thank you, jeff. time to show you some of this morning's headlines around the globe. "new york times" reports the most dangerous part of flying may be on the ground. since 2008, there have been an average of three near-collisions every day on runways in the united states. they involve planes or vehicles in the wrong place on active run ways. new ground radar is supposed to prevent that, but it wasn't installed in every major airport until this year. france's government intends to remove the word "mother" and "father" from all legal documents in an effort to legalize gay marriage. the law would also give equal adoption rights to same-sex couples. s.a.t. reading scores have hit a four-decade low. experts blame it on a record number of students taking thehe

test. and "usa today" looks at a new effort to get junk food out of schools. more than 300 retired military leaders say high calorie, low nutrient food is contributing to childhood obesity. they say many young people are too heavy to serve in the military, putting national security at risk. we've heard the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff say it's

former president bill clinton says violent protests over an anti-islam film are out of place in the ci21st century. >> you have to allow people to say and do things you find abhorrent, and you can't react every time you're insulted. >> this morning we'll ask the former president about the middle east, the presidential race and the next four years. and there's hope for retired

fbi agent robert levinson, who disappeared in iran 5 1/2 years ago. former fbi insider john miller talks to his family and we'll hear what iran's president is now saying on "cbs this morning." this portion of "cbs this morning" sponsored by walmart. save money, live better. [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu users chose prego.

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and a lot of police officers in the hospital after he was hurt while chasing a suspected copper ft. there were two or rest of it overnight lincoln first pg&e substation. the police officers one of the people hurt in a house fire in south severances up. the cause of fire on grand avenue is still unknown at this hour. they're mopping up early this afternoon. a group is protesting a plan to spend $44 million on a new county jail. ,,,,,,,,

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welcome back to "cbs this morning." after president obama speaks at the u.n., he will speak to the clinton global initiative here in new york. the organization will also hear from governor mitt romney this morning. former president bill clinton created the initiative in 2005 to address social change around the world. when we spoke with him on monday about the politics, the economy, and that anti-muslim film that set off deadly riots across the middle east. >> we weren't disrespecting islam by not squelching a film trailer that nobody an authority knew anything about, that 99% of us think was crude and disrespectful and awful. but we have learned the hard way over more than 200 years, that in order to preserve freedom and

liberty, including the freedom of religion, you have to allow people to say and do things that you find abhorrent. and you can't react every time you're insulted. i mean, that's the first thing we all have to teach our children. and i don't mean to compare the people rioting against us in cairo or anywhere else to children. that's not the point. the point is, if you live in a shame-based society where you think nothing good is going to happen, the temptation is to wait for somebody to say something you find offensive, then you can lash out against it. but free people, mandela, absorb destructive things and refuse to be destroyed. yes, americans don't understand all muslim countries as well as we should. but they need to understand us and themselves. you cannot live in a shame-based world. you won't make it in the 21st century. there's too much diversity.

there's too much stuff going on on the internet. you've got to be able to say, if you believe in islam, that i believe in a god and a prophet strong enough to withstand the criticisms of petty, narrow minded, mean spirited people. i believe that the cultural crassness i abhor will in the end fall before the values that i exult. >> all right, let me turn to politics in this way. you got some acclaim because of a speech you made that had lots of specificity in it. and arithmetic even. having said that, do you think that the president especially, because he's in your party, but also governor romney, have laid out with enough specificity so that the american people understand what they plan to do? >> well, i think that the differences between them are clear. they've said enough to make the differences clear. >> is that philosophy or specifics? >> well, they've said enough

philosophy with enough specifics, if you look at the whole republican primary process, and whole last year or so where the president made specific budget offers to congress. we know what governor romney says, which is that his proposal for dealing with the debt is first to make it bigger by adopting another round of tax cuts that with the interest associated it would be about $5 trillion more over a decade, and we know how he says he wants to eliminate them, not by raising taxes, but by eliminating preferences in the tax code. but he says he can do that without raising taxes on the middle class. i'm not sure that's possible. but he wants to defer until after the election, saying what the specifics are. i think that ought to be a little bit of a red flag. >> mitt romney told scott pelley

that he's going to reduce everybody's tax rates by about 20%, but that the rich would not pay less because he would end deductions and loopholes and that he would still be able to balance the deficit by doing that. of course, as you pointed out, he will not say which deductions. why do you say that raises a red flag? >> under governor romney's plan, i pay well over 20% now. so if you eliminate the mortgage tax deduction and the charitable tax deduction, i'll still be ahead. so to do it, you have to go down and raise -- and cut the deductions enough that you wind up raising taxes on people in the middle income group. that's the problem. >> do you think this election -- the president has said that change has to come from outside rather than in washington, that this election has the possibility of producing a change that will be able to overcome gridlock. >> i don't think it not only as a possibility, i think it almost

certainly will. and let me explain why. i think the president's going to win. but let's assume governor romney won. if he wins, that almost certainly means the republicans will hold on to the huse and it will be about 50/50 in the senate, more or less the way it is now. if president obama wins, i think that too will break the log jam for a different reason. as senator mcconnell said, their number one goal the last four years has been denying him a second term. as soon as he gets that, they can't deny him a third term, he can't have one anyway. i think you will see -- i'll just make a prediction. i think in the lame-duck session, they will avoid the fiscal cliff, they will reach an agreement -- >> by extending it? by some sort of extension? or by making a deal? >> they'll either make a deal or they'll have a short extension, which makes it clear this is not another year, this is not going to fool around. i predict that you will get a budget deal early next year, if

not in a lame-duck session. and i think you'll start to see them work together. it's going to be a different world. >> because the election will have that kind of consequence? >> absolutely. >> most presidents win the second term, as you suggested might happen. are you therefore freer to do things in foreign policy, to take more risk for peace in the middle east, for example, than you might otherwise have done because of political repercussions? >> well, i don't know about that. i mean, it's certainly true that there will be fewer political repercussions, but i think that the president will be focused on the economy at home. and will be trying to maximize the possibilities of promoting peace and stability and prosperity and fighting climate change, all those things around the world. >> speaking of the middle east and currently what's going on in syria, one of romney's top

foreign policy advisers said the other day that obama has made the united states look impotent in the world. the facts bear that out? >> i disagree with that. i disagree with that. the suggestion that somehow america could or even should be in the driver's seat in the arab spring is inherently ridiculous. i mean -- >> should we be doing more? take syria as an example. should we do more in syria? >> syria is a really difficult proposition. and it's a complex society. when mr. assad goes, as i believe eventually he will, what takes its place? how do we do that? these are complicated things. i don't know enough about -- when every one of these things is going on, i go out of my way to talk to hillary about it so i don't have any information so i don't inadvertently say something to you that i shouldn't say. so i don't know what their options are.

but i think that if we have some nonlethal options that we could use to support the syrian opposition, i presume we would be doing it and i wouldn't be surprised if we are. >> what might that be, though? what kinds of things might that be? >> well, i don't know. they're getting guns. who's giving them to them? >> whether you agree with him or not, he's never not interesting. >> so interesting, whether it's on domestic politics or foreign affairs. i mean, on syria, talking about whether we should be helping the rebels more in syria. and his wife, the secretary of state and the white house believe that's troublesome to send arms to groups we don't know that much about that could include al qaeda. there is a new lead in a search for a former fbi agent and father of seven. john miller will show us how the president of iran may hold the key to bringing robert levinson home. you're watching "cbs this morning." [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day

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to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. till you finish your vegetables. [ clock ticking ] [ male announcer ] there's a better way... v8 v-fusion. vegetable nutrition they need, fruit taste they love. could've had a v8...

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people talk about new york moments. here's a good example. two men trying to hail the same taxi. check this out. and this is how they settle the issue. this is how chris is trying to welcome me to new york. welcome to your new life, norah. this is what it takes to get a taxi around here, huh? >> got ten limousines coming for you. but we've all seen it, haven't we? >> that's right. and in new york, fair is what you pay at the end of the cab ride. [ laughter ] >> by the way, this is john miller. >> and the story that he's here to talk about is the search for a retired fbi agent robert levinson, he vanished five and a half years ago while working in iran. since then, his family and the fbi have pleaded with the iranian government for information. >> now our interview with iran's president may shed some light on the case. senior correspondent john my ser

a former fbi assistant director. he's here. and we came back from this interview -- i told you what he said and you thought it was pretty interesting. >> i thought it was a surprise. and as world leaders gather around new york for the u.n. general assembly, their motorcades are bound to pass one of the many billboards asking for their help in locating robert levinson, but the intended audience for that ad campaign may be just one man, iran's president mahmood ahmadinejad. and as we learned, he may have the answers to a mystery that has consumed levinson's family for more than five years. >> reporter: is it one of those things that you get used to? >> oh, never. >> reporter: as i walked through times square with christine levinson and her son dan, neither were prepared for what they were about to see. there was robert levinson staring back at his wife and ston frson from an electronic billboard.

the picture was taken from a mysterious video that the family received nearly two years ago. levinson, a retired fbi agent, pale and gaunt, being held somewhere and pleading for help. >> i have been treated well. i need the help of the united states government. >> i immediately knew it was bob, so i watched very carefully trying to figure out what the message was and i still don't know. >> reporter: this is bob levinson in better times. he's the father of seven and now has two grandchildren. in march of 2007, working as a private investigator, levinson travelled to dubai on a case involving counterfeit cigarettes. he took a side trip to kish island, an iranian free trade zone that requires no entry visa. he met with a contact there and was arrested by iranian authorities. >> when this first happened, i expected him to be home in a couple of days. unfortunately, that hasn't happened. and we still have no information

on where he is or how to get him home. >> reporter: but you believe he's in iran. >> i believe he's live and in iran or one of the countries nearby. >> reporter: in 2007, levinson's wife christine along with her son daniel traveled to teheran to meet with iranian officials, but the iranians said they had no information about levinson. did you get the impression that they were stymied by this mystery or that they weren't trying hard? >> they said that they were working and doing everything they can. i think there's still opportunities for the iranian government to help us. >> reporter: but in an interview for "cbs this morning," iranian president mahmood ahmadinejad, when pressed by charlie rose, did not deny iran had levinson and even hinted there had been talks about a prisoner exchange with the u.s. >> is anything that could happen, a trade or something that would allow him to come back to the united states? >> translator: i remember that

last year, iranian and american intelligence groups had a

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former philippine first lady imelda marcos has fallen on hard times. >> she and her country fled the country, leaving most of their huge wardrobe behind. now the collection is severely damaged. we'll show you what's left on "cbs this morning." i don't have time for the flu. that's why i'm knocking things off my to-do list. vitamin d, done! hand sanitizer, done! hey, eric! i'm here for my flu shot. sorry, didn't make an appointment. well, you don't need one. whether it's flu shots or prescriptions, we continue to accept express scripts and medco plans.

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for people are being treated for injuries after a fire at a duplex in south san francisco. among the injured is a police officer who was brought to a hospital as a precaution. the fire was for this reported late last night and crews were on the scene much of this morning. the fire has displaced seven people police officer was injured after chasing a suspect the copper ft. two people were arrested at an electrical happiness located? who owns it? who keeps it? if we fall down; if we fail; where can we fall back to, to that place where we are most happy?

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♪ >> good morning, everybody. it is 8:00 a.m., and welcome back to "cbs this morning." president obama heads to the u.n. with a message for iran, but apparently without trying to meet with other world leaders. and say it ain't so. the world faces a shortage of bacon? yes, bacon. a calamity, but, first, here's a look at what's happening and what we've been covering on cbs this morning. >> we face a choice between the forces that would drive us apart and the hopes that -- >> it will be his version of the world as opposed to mitt romney's. >> credit i objects say he is not giving the u.n. enough attention this year because he wants to be re-elected. >> hillary clinton is doing all the work here this week.

>> she is. he is on the view while she was across town. >> iran's president is making headlines at the u.n. as he usually does. >> would you retaliate against the united states if there's an attack by israel on iran? >> is this the impetus to change this lockout situation? >> another apparent mistake by an nfl replace the official to set off a firestorm of criticism. the ref said caught the ball. he noticeably didn't. he also pushed one defender out of the way. >> i don't have any information. i inadvertently said something to you that i shouldn't have said. >> i shent a lot of time beside that. >> oh, really? >> two men trying to hail the same tax cab, and this is how they settle the issue. >> lady gaga thanked her fans for loving her despite her recent weight gain. now, lady gaga tweeted it's hard not to eat pop tarts all the time when your hat is a toaster.

president obama made his annual speech to the united nations a short time ago. it was more than 120 world leaders and millions of american voters. bill plant is at the u.n. with the story. bill, good morning. >> reporter: the president began his u.n. speech hoer today by invoking the memory of chris stevens, the american ambassador who was killed in the attack on libya. the president called that attack an attack on the very ideals on which the u.n. was founded. >> we are serious about these ideals. we must speak honestly about the deeper causes of the crisis because we face a choice between the forces that would drive us apart and the hopes that we hold in common. today we must reaffirm that our future will be determined by people like chris stevens and

not by his killers. today we must declare that this violence and intolerance has no place among our united nations. >> reporter: this year the president has no meegs with other foreign leaders while is he here at the u.n. last year he had 13 of them, but this year secretary of state hillary clinton is handling all those. the president is in campaign mode. yesterday he made an appearance on the television program "the view," but he has no time to meet with foreign leaders. it's all about whose message prevails here. norah, charlie. >> bill, thank you. i heard utsdz been 20 years since the president -- also, in an interview on monday we asked iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad about his country's nuclear program. >> you did not deny you are building a nuclear weapon. >> translator: how many times should i repeat this? >> please, repeat it.

please tell me what iran is doing. >> translator: what we we do? let's imagine that we have an atomic weapon. a nuclear weapon. what would we do with it? what intelligent person would fight 5,000 american bombs with one bomb? >> with respect, the chief of the united states government says that they are in possession of 5,600 modern bombs. history has shown that the iranians are very smart. also, because of our beliefs, we do not believe in a nuclear weapon. we are against it. >> and you can see the rest of our interview with iran's president tomorrow on cbs "this morning" including what he called me during the interview. >> ms. o'donnell. >> he did not. >> norah? >> he would not call me by my name. he just called me the lady repeatedly throughout the interview.

>> i think that works for you. the lady. >> thank you, gale. >> remember last missouri month u.s. senate candidate todd akin caused a controversy by talking about race and pregnancy. he has been under pressure to get out of the race, and today is a deadline for him to decide. chip reid is covering the akin campaign in st. louis, and, chip, what's the word on what he is going to do today? >> reporter: well, i'll tell you, we have a real battle brewing here in missouri. he is showing no signs much getting out of this race, but the republican establishment wants him to get out and get out today, and now he is getting some help from some big guns. >> it is a great honor to be out here with todd. >> reporter: former speaker of the house newt gingrich not only endorsed todd akin on monday, he predicted other republicans will follow his lead. >> i don't see how any national republican in good conscience after tomorrow has any choice except to say that the choices for the republican nominee, i am for the republican nominee.

>> reporter: gingrich went on to help akin raise money on monday. mike hucka bewill reportedly campaign with him too, but republican support like this has been hard to come by for the missouri congressman since he said this last month. when asked if abortion should be legal for victims of rape. >> it seems to me, first of all, from what i understand from doctors, that's really rare. if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. >> reporter: those comments outraged democrats and many republicans. they also reversed the momentum in the missouri senate race before the state was considered a likely republican win. now polls show that democratic senator claire mccaskill has the advantage. akin has repeatedly apologized for what he said and just as many times has refused to drop out of the race. >> for the about 100th time or so, i am in this race. >> reporter: gop leaders, including mitt romney, have called on akin to step aside and have full key funding as recently as sunday the chairman of the republican party

predicted a democratic win if akin stays in the race. >> we're not going to play in missouri with todd akin, i can tell you that. >> reporter: but none of that is having any affect on todd akin. in fact, today he begins a tour. he is calling it the commonsense bus tour all across missouri. >> chip, thank you. a southern california wildfire has turned deadly this morning. firefighters are struggling with strong winds east of san diego. as ben tracie reports, a man who ignored evacuation orders was found dead on monday. >> reporter: the wildfire tore through 2,000 acres in campo, california. 65 miles east of san diego near the border with mexico destroying 20 homes and possibly taking one life. >> we don't know the cause at this point of death, although his body was found in his structure. >> reporter: people who live many the area say that would likely be the 82-year-old man who lived in this house.

>> told him to get out, but he didn't leave. his truck is still there. >> reporter: the fire started sunday afternoon and spread so quickly that homeowners were caught off guard. >> at exactly 20 minutes to get my horses and just get whatever. get it and get out of there. >> the fire activity has increased. we haven't seen much smoke production today, and that's because we haven't had a lot of fire growth. >> firefighters say they're getting the upper hand thanks to decreased wind, but evacuation orders remain in place and dozens of structures are still threatened. for cbs this morning, ben tracy, los angeles. and a warning for seniors and medicare prescription drug plans. you are about to see a big price hike. there's a new study out this morning that says there will be a double digit increase next year for seven of the ten most popular prescription drug plans. the report says seniors can save money if they shop around for a new plan. enrollment starts on october 15th. if you are a bacon lover,

get ready. this may be the year to pig out because next year we should expect a worldwide shortage of pork and bacon. oh, no. britain's national pig association blames drought conditions that affected this year's corn and soybean crop that will make it more expensive to feed the little pigs. >> this is a calamity, as i said. >> i was going to say, i may need therapy. last time i wore this necklace, my stylist charlie rose said why are you wearing those sausages around your neck? we have it on tape. >> no, i'm not denying it. yes, i did say that, and yes, it looks better than it did with that dress. >> i like how you say speaking of breakfast meats. >> breakfast meats. >> from that story to this one, the philippines, we all know amelda marcos, apparently her shoe collection is ruined. more than 1,200 pairs of shoes were left in storage after the

one-time first lady fled the country in 19861986. officials say over the years the shoes were damaged by termites, mold, and storms. the shoes, of course, were seen as a symbol of the excesses and corruption of her husband's dictatorship. >> all right. >> we can ebay now. mold and termitis. >> can you imagine a woman having 1,000 shoes? >> i really can. no, i really can. >> it's like 13,000, i think.

>> if you were los to retirement age, one simple decision can boost your social security check by 8% a year. the five things that will maximize your social security benefits. what's he going to say? he joins us next on cbs "this morning." [ male announcer ] it started long ago. it's called passion. and it's not letting up anytime soon. at unitedhealthcare insurance company, we understand that commitment. so does aarp, serving americans 50 and over for generations. so it's no surprise millions have chosen an aarp dicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans,

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here's a question. when to collect social security. it's one of the most critical decisions you will ever have to make. >> jack otter, executive editor of "cbs moneywatch," is here with five things you need to know to get the most out of your social security. he's also the author of "worth it, not worth it." we were just asking an interesting discussion about this. when is the right age to start collecting your social security? >> sure. you can start at age 62. but you will get a much smaller check. i say wait as long as possible, ideally to age 70.

i realize for some people, that's impossible, they need the income right away. but if you don't, realize that every year you wait, you're essentially getting an 8% raise. so for my book, i actually ran the numbers. i took into account somebody who made $75,000 at the peak. if they started taking it at age 62, they would get $16,000 a year. if they could wait until 66, they'd get $26,000. if you are in ill health and you die at 68, then this is really bad advice from me. so certainly you should hang in there. >> but let's be optimistic, i got it. >> but mortality is great to think about. there's a great site called livingto100.com. >> what's the best bet for filing early? >> sure. well, there's a couple different things here. it's very tricky. if you are married, you can file early and let's say you're the husband, because in this

generation, the husband generally made more. file early and suspend your benefits. that enables your spouse to get half of your payout. that can continue until she is 70. if she worked, she can then say to hell with that, now i'm taking my full retirement benefit at age 70, my husband is taking his full retirement at age 70 and the paychecks together are much larger. so essentially it's free money for that eight or four years. >> what about self-employed people? what advice do you have for them? >> this is important. people think hey, i'm self-employed, i can escape this whole fica tax that the rest of us pay and they feel smart, then they retire, suddenly they're not getting social security. so it's very important to try to pay into the system as a self-employed person. you start young, you do it for your entire career and you're eligible for decent benefits, and you really shouldn't try to avoid those taxes. >> what do you say to the people who are wondering is social security even going to be around when it's my turn to get it? >> that is the number one

complaint that you get. now, everyone has to realize first and most important, social security is a pay as you go system. really, forget all this talk about the trust fund. we are paying for our parents' benefits right now. we hope our kids will pay for ours. so yes, on paper, the surplus runs out in about 2033. after that, only 75% of our paychecks would be around. the reality, i think, is taxes will go up. the senior voting block is very powerful, so to assume it's going to run out, you have to assume seniors would say okay, that's all right, cut my paycheck. >> so there's not a lock box? >> there is no lock box. sorry, al gore. the lock box does not exist. >> okay. >> thank you, jack otter. as norah pointed out, wearing your harry potter glasses. >> oh, thank you very much. >> i like it. >> a great observation. you remember mr. tuddball and mrs. wiggins? how about eunice? they all came from carol burnett's legendary tv show.

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it's been reported that a chemical in the mcrib is also used to make yoga mats. yeah. also, this marks the first time that yoga and mcrib have been mentioned in the same sentence. ever. no one finishes a bucket of mcribs and like let's get into downward dog. this morning, bill clinton tells us about his proudest achievement. >> and we'll ask him what will hillary clinton do four years from now. hillary clinton do four years from now. your loc

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good morning. and headlines today and nv plans of mr. was injured this morning rose pursuing a suspected copper thief. they found 1 man inside an officer fell and expected to be ok. a second suspect found and arrested a couple of hours later. oppose this morning of plans for new jail in san mateo county plan to pack a budget meeting today believe in the money would be better spent and social service services of other alternatives issue is becoming its insisted has been sending a low-level offenders to local jails this last fall. a proposal to tete to allow

apartments the smallest total 20 square feet including the kitchen and bathroom and the closet. the current size of the city's most living rooms and the goal is to revive more rental units a low prices especially for single people who will not be entertaining people. traffic and weather coming up.

good morning.

the sand mateo bridge ok conditions in the spot working your way between hayward and foster city. the accident one a one-year 92. and when one is " slow and go both directions was fined 24 struggle with a couple of accidents and lots of red and the south bay travel times are very slow working your way to 87. the cloud cover and thick fog approaching the coast line and did said the bay area almost as appearing in the fog this morning. the sunshine will be showing up very nicely throughout the day up into the 80s in london '60s the '70s inside of the bay area and '50s and '60s towards the coast. temperatures warming up the next couple of days.

country music superstar toby keith loves u.s. troops. at a concert in hoirng he invited the wife of a soldier in afghanistan to come up onstage. and then after the song, i'll bet you know where this is going. her husband came out to surprise her. love when that happens. hats off to toby keith for arranging that reunion. special shoutout. i never get tired of looking at

those videos where the families are surprised by their loved ones. >> he had just come back from afghanistan. so you bet she was very happy to see him. and likewise. nice story. welcome back to "cbs this morning." we have more of our interview with former president bill clinton. he talked about foreign policy, his charitable foundation, and of course, we asked about his wife, hillary clinton's future. >> the former president also told us a story about the power of shame and a woman named zhow chun-lee who found the strength to overcome it. >> there's a child here -- not a child, a young woman. i don't know if you've seen her. the disabled chinese -- you've seen her, right? >> yes. >> i went to her village, i was in her home in 1998 as president. the great honor, right? not for her. her parents were required to take her upstairs and hide her, leave her on the bed upstairs because they live in a culture that thought there was something wrong with disabilities.

and that young girl waited until this spring when i had the cgiu to meet me for the first time. i was in her home. now, what did she do? she decided not to be a victim. she decided to become an advocate for women, an advocate for the disabled. she married a fine man who now carries her around. she made the most of her life. >> mr. president, you have spent a lot of time and energy and effort of your own and others to make the clinton global initiative a success. at this point, what's your proudest achievement? >> the thing itself, that is we've had eight years of people from all over the world, from the richest people in the world to people representing the poorest people in the world, being flown in here so they can

be a part of it. getting together and making very specific commitments to try to change lives in concrete ways. and it's worked. i just had this feeling that if people were at the meeting and actually produced something, promised some time, some money, some expertise and then they kept that promise, that it would make a difference in the lives of other people, and the ideaisf what i'm proudest of. it's given people all over the world and all different levels of wealth and knowledge and skill and standing in society a chance to come together. >> i just returned from haiti, a place that you have also spent a lot of time, a lot of effort, raised a lot of money. one of the questions that comes up from a place like haiti is there are pledges and there are promises, but how much of that gets delivered? >> well, i think first of all, a

lot of the nongovernmental money that was promised has, in fact, now been spent. there are a few places, maybe the red cross has still got some money they raised for haiti that hasn't been spent, but they spent a lot of it to help us build schools and other structures to serve the people of haiti while we were building permanent structures. >> president morsi is coming to the united nations. he said we need to understand the arab world better than we do, their values. what is it that you think he ought to understand about america? >> well, he lives here. >> he did. southern california. >> he lived in southern california. and he basically decided he liked america, he liked the economics system, he liked a lot of the people he met, but he thought that we were culturally

too crass, that women were obje objectified and he supported the muslim culture of being less -- he thought we were too overtly sexual a society and all of that. and there's something to his argument there. but what he should know or make sure his fellow egyptians know about america is that this rioting, which he has spoken out against, against this movie trailer is premised on the fact that there's no division between church and state. we had to know about this movie being made. which was never made, by the way. and it had to be done with somebody's sanction. and if it wasn't, we would prove it by putting everybody associated with it in jail. that's open-and-shut, over and

out. but he should make sure the what the egyptians know about us is that the reason muslims can worship in the united states in a free way with the broad support of the vast majority of the american people, and the reason jews can do the same thing, and the reason we have the highest percentage of church going attendance of any predominantly christian nation in the world, and the reason we welcome buddhists and hindus and people of all other faiths is that our government is separated from the practice of faith, but protects the right of everyone to practice, to talk about it, to not believe, and to say whatever they want. and that it works for us and it's made us an extraordinarily religious observant country.

>> you have talked about your wife, secretary of state clinton. is she going to become part of all of this? >> i hope she will. she's really good at this. she was doing it long before i was. and she -- by appointing the representative for women's groups and women of the world and directing the emphasis of the united states assistance toward empowering these groups, she's really -- will be in a perfect position to kind of pick up where she left off. you know, 20 years ago, when i became president, she could still be in the volunteer world, but for the last 12 years, she'd been a senator, a candidate for president, secretary of state. so it will -- i hope she'll do it, but it's up to her. she has to decide what she wants to do. >> when you said that, i didn't

know whether you were talking about working with you here or working for her as president. >> well, i'd like to spend the rest of my life working for her. i meant what she was going to do when she left the state department. >> do you think she has an interest in politics in the future? >> i don't know what she's going to do. i don't think she knows what she's going to do. she says no. but i know how bone tired you can get. she had eight years in the white house. then she had these six years in the senate. then she had four years as secretary of state. it's been a long 20 years. >> i thought it was interesting as he talks about -- he really kind of expands a lot. he says i hope she'll do it. i think she ends up running in 2016. i do. >> but i also think he's telling the truth when he says she doesn't know. she has been in public life for

20 years, and to have a chance to take two years off to sort of think of what you've done and what you might like to do, kind of get your juices back is probably a good idea. >> the truth of the matter is she could do whatever she wants and that's the beauty of it. he clearly is so very proud of her. i know a lot of people are feeling the way you do, norah and hoping that she does run in 2016. >> it would be a good story to cover. it would be a good story with probably hillary clinton and joe biden on the democratic side and marco rubio, paul ryan, assuming that mitt romney doesn't win, there would be kind of a very interesting contest. see, i'm already talking about the next election. >> you're suggesting that biden might run. >> of course. i think he will. interestingly, though, hillary will be 69, 70 on election day and joe biden will be about 74. >> that's still young these days. >> that's right. >> that's still very young these days. carol burnett is one of the greatest numbers in television. she's 79.

she's here this morning to talk about her ground breaking show. she says she feels great and how she made a path for a lot of other funny

hello, st. louis. good morning. in 1967, carol burnett became the first woman to host her own tv variety show. it became one of the most honored programs in television history, thank you very much. "the carol burnett show" ran for 11 years here on cbs and won 25

emmys. >> aahhhh! >> scarlett, i love you. that gown is gorgeous. >> thank you. i saw it in the window and i just couldn't resist. >> hello? hello? >> don't press that button -- >> hello? >> am i still the fairest of them all? >> not even close. >> am i top 15? >> you're 906. >> oh, well, that's up three over last week's chart. >> that's because the three little pigs died.

>> you got splinters in the windmills of your mind. you're playing hockey with a warped pug. >> what's so funny? >> we are. ♪ so glad we had this time together just to have a laugh or sing a song seems we just started and before you know it comes the time we have to say so long ♪ good night. >> doesn't that bring back memories. >> yes. >> a new dvd box set of "the carol burnett show" is coming out today. it's the first time the program will be available in the stores. guess who's at the table with us, carol burnett.

>> hello. >> what are you doing as a woman hosting a tv variety show? weren't you told women can't do that? >> yes, i was. and it was kind of a fluke. i had a strange contract with cbs all those years ago for ten years. and within the first five years, there was a clause that said if i wanted to, not if the network wanted, it was bizarre, that i could push that button and they would have to put us on the air for 30 one-hour variety shows, pay or play. i thought i'm done. a host of variety -- i don't know if i could ever do that. comes the last week of the fifth year, my husband and i looked at each other and said maybe we should push that button. so i called up the board of the vice presidents of cbs here and said hi, mike. merry christmas and happy new year. i want to push the button before

it's too late. he said what button? i said, you know, where i can do variety. oh! he said. let me get back to you. so i'm sure he got a bunch of lawyers out to look up that -- they'd forgotten. so when he called back, he said, you know, carol, it's a man's game. variety is a man's game. it's jackie gleason, it's milton burl, it's dean martin. he said we've got this great sitcom for you called "here's agnes." you can just picture it. i said i don't want to be agnes. i wan to have a variety show with music and sketches and guest stars and a rep company, and they had to put us on the air. if i hadn't had pushed that button, it wouldn't have happened. >> and was it a success immediately? >> pretty much. and they put us up against "i spy" and "the big valley" which were always in the top ten. but we started to climb and we hit our stride when they put us on saturday nights.

that was a great lineup. >> part of the fun, though, watching the show was how you all would crack each other up. did you have some device -- were you deliberately trying to do that or were you trying to fought against it? >> we fought against it. people thought maybe we wanted to do that on purpose, but we never did. sometimes when tim and i would be doing mrs. wiggins and mr. tuddball, he would throw in lines that i had never heard before. mrs. wiggins was stupid, so i couldn't laugh because stupid people don't have a sense of humor. >> everyone knows that. >> so he would throw these lines and you see me occasionally like doing this. i was biting my finger to keep from laughing. because that devil, oh, he loved to get at us. >> you're out with this new set, compilation of all your dvds. >> i'm so thrilled. >> i have to say that when this aarrived, we thought you had sent us doughnuts.

[ laughter ] >> i'll do that next time. >> everyone's like oh, there's doughnuts in your office. there were people circling. this is fabulous. >> what i'm happy about is all of these shows are the full one hour unedited. that people haven't seen since they were first aired. >> but life is really good for you, carol burnett. i'm happy to say you're married to a much younger man. >> yes. >> do we say carol burnett is a cougar these days? >> absolutely. >> that's a good thing, isn't it? >> of course. >> i have a question. so you're one of the great comediennes of all time. who do you like now? who are your favorite comedie e comediennes? >> who cracks you up? >> well, i love tina. i love amy poehler. i love jane lynch. you talk about ladies. there's a new girl that's just wonderful that i've seen on youtube, i've never met her.

her name is rosemary watson and she's incredible. she does hillary clinton. the voice sounds -- >> you're watching youtube, carol? >> oh, yeah. i got a fan letter from her just asking advice and stuff. so i googled her and she was -- she had me on the floor. she does diane sawyer and hillary. she's great. >> what's her name again? >> rosemary watson. >> all right. we'll look her up. >> she's terrific. >> does it amaze you that here we are 2012 still talking about carol burnett? i think that's very cool. >> it's lovely. i'm absolutely thrilled. also because of youtube, i'm getting fan mail from 11-year-olds, 15-year-olds, teenagers. >> carol burnett, what a pleasure. >> thank you. >> for the doughnuts and the dvds. >> we'll be right back. you're watching "cbs this morning," where we're glad we had this time together. ,,

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check out this squirrel. he thinks he's a bird. the squirrel is trapped in a kitchen. no way out except the window. what does he do? yeah, he jumps. three stories aboveground. lands and is able to run away. >> a flying squirrel. >> what was funny was the guy shooting the video, when he started talking in german. >> that does it for us here this morning. up next, your local news.,,,,,,,

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good morning. and headlines crews this morning have put out a house fire in south san francisco first reported late last night in a duplex near grand and just at avenues are four people were injured including a police officer brought to hospital only as a precaution seven people displaced overnight. richmond residents of new information about a refinery fire at chevron's last month. they're going to a committee meeting to your government and oil company officials talk the focus is on the five books section of the 200 ft. long pipeline. it did modern 19 monitor 19 different parts of the pipe but missed the section with a breach happened. 10 hidden cameras are found in

the sentences, the elementary principle charged with five drug-related felonies according to police reports on a the cameras was found inside of a teddy bear. the weather looks mighty good. a lot of sunshine this week and the first week of fall outside we have patchy fog but not toward mount diablo. '40's and 50's now but by the afternoon and joined sunshine and '80s inland and '60s and '70s in the bay area. the next couple of days of the warming up getting hot on thursday and friday in the valley is slightly cooling heading towards the weekend. traffic up next.

in the bay bridge toll plaza traffic slow and go with metering lights remain on the all approaches to the maze is slow towards the bay bridge. heading towards 580 are coming off of the maze and 24 the early morning and accidents that cause a lot of problems this morning. have a wonderful day.